Coverage analysis in secondary forest of the Conchal Mixed National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica

Abstract

This study shows the behavior of passive regeneration in the secondary dry forest of the Conchal Mixed Wildlife Refuge. Whose purpose was to characterize the floristic composition of the seedlings and saplings to determine the structure and potential composition of the forest ecosystem within the Refuge. For the measurement of tall stilts (5 cm ≤ d ≤ 9.9 cm), 90 Permanent Sampling Plots (PPM) of 10 m x 10 m (100 m2) each were evaluated for low stilts (height ≥ 1.5 m and d < 5 cm ) 5 m x 5 m (25 m²) recording units were installed, and 2 m x 2 m plots for saplings (0.3 m ≤ height <1.5 m). Regarding the tall latizales, all the individuals were measured and identified, and each one was classified according to its condition, crown exposure, canopy, crown shape and abundance of lianas; for low saplings and seedlings, only the species present were identified and quantified. Low diversity is found in the high latizales, where species such as Trichilia martiana and Guazuma ulmifolia have a high ecological weight due to their high percentages of abundance, dominance and frequency. In the low latizales and saplings the species Malvaviscus arboreus is the most abundant in the site. The execution of silvicultural techniques (refinement, devitalization, enrichment and release) and active restoration in the forest are required to increase the diversity of species.